


All is Fair in Love and Doggy-Care

by Demedicis



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, M/M, half the characters are dogs, i hope you like COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF PUPPIES
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-22 22:15:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10706238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Demedicis/pseuds/Demedicis
Summary: Kyungsoo gets roped into adopting a dog, and a troublesome one at that.  He calls on Byun Baekhyun, dog trainer extrordinaire, to help him out.





	All is Fair in Love and Doggy-Care

**Author's Note:**

> So, I originally wrote this for the 2015 round of the Soonaemoured exchange. I recently reread this after two years, decided I liked it, and thought I should post it here. I've edited it since then, however.  
> Warning: I have never owned a dog, so I am super ignorant about how adoption/training works, but I still hope you enjoy this because it was fun to write & edit!

Kyungsoo reflects on all of his life choices as Jongin drags him by the wrist inside the building. He thinks about what his life would be like if he had gone to a different college, what it would be like if he hadn’t met Jongin. Mostly he thinks about what it would be like if he hadn’t confessed to his supposed ‘best friend’ about his most secret desire.

So yeah, Kyungsoo grew up in a household without a family pet. No soft fluffy tail, skittering of little feet on hardwood floors—not even shimmering scales reflecting from behind cold glass. 

Not that it matters; Kyungsoo still got to experience a rather normal (read: lonely) childhood, there’s nothing wrong with him…except at the end of the day, when Kyungsoo collapses onto his old, well-worn sofa and turns on the TV, there’s a little part of him that doesn’t feel quite _right._

This little—tiny, miniscule, practically not even there!—lonesomeness had become more apparent. Sometimes, on Sundays when Kyungsoo got up to make himself breakfast, he would feel it. Or at 2AM on a Tuesday night when sleep escaped him. Or any hour of the day for any reason at all. Hmm.

Of course people noticed. Even Kyungsoo himself was aware of when his smile only stretched half as wide. Jongin had noticed too. Although he said nothing, Kyungsoo could tell he’d been making his friend anxious from all the stares he received and the amount of times Jongin had offered to sleep over and marathon TV shows together on the couch.

And of course, Jongin, the world’s biggest man-child, had only squawked indignantly when Kyungsoo had admitted how… companion-less his childhood had been. After smothering Kyungsoo into a spring jacket and practically shoving his feet into his boots—on the wrong feet of course—Kyungsoo was dragged half-way across town, and no amount of kicking, pulling or screaming would get Jongin to turn back.

And, that is how Kyungsoo finds himself at a dog adoption agency, coat unzipped despite the bitter wind with definite blisters on his feet. Jongin beams, happily pulling Kyungsoo into the building, and Kyungsoo grits out about a hundred curses before he notes that there’s an alarming amount of children in there as well.

“Hello, how can I help you?” the lady at reception asks with a smile.

“My friend is looking to adopt,” Jongin replies and Kyungsoo yelps from the sidelines. He is not! He will do no such thing!

“Oh, you’re required to fill out these forms. Please have a seat over there,” she instructs and hands Jongin the clipboard, who drags Kyungsoo once again by the wrist to a pair of fold-up chairs.

“Okay, let’s see… name? Do Kyungsoo… Age? Twenty-four…” Jongin mumbles as he scribbles in the answers with a blue pen.

“Aren’t you going to let me fill out my own forms?” Kyungsoo grumbles, agitatedly watching Jongin breeze through, like, nine pages of paperwork.

“Then… does that mean you’ve accepted your fate as a future dog owner?” Jongin chirps, peering over at Kyungsoo like a mother to her grumpy, fidgety child.

“No!” Kyungsoo barks back, further evidence that he is in fact five-years-old.

“Then be a good boy and let Jongin fill out the forms for you,” his friend answers him and Kyungsoo has half a mind to shove his foot so far up Jongin’s ass it comes out his disgusting ass-of-a-face mouth, but he resists because Being in Public and Appropriateness. 

Kyungsoo curls up into a little ball of seething hatred and plays on his phone as he waits for Jongin to finish ruining his life. There are some things Kyungsoo can do, and there are some he can’t, and caring for something/someone else is not one of those things.

“Finished!” Jongin cries, startling Kyungsoo out of his self-loathing trance and then hurrying to the counter to return the clipboard and papers. Kyungsoo puts his phone away and stands beside Jongin.

“Alright, we’ll have a look at your paperwork and give you a call. For now, you’re free to peruse the animals. Make sure you come back and tell me which cutie you want to take home so I can add it to your file,” the woman says, pointing towards a door with puppy paw prints painted all over it.

“Let’s go!” Jongin exclaims, barrelling through the door. Kyungsoo grumbles something under his breath but follows nonetheless.

The room is large and loud; barks echoing throughout. Some deep and honestly frightening, while some nothing more than high-pitch yaps that would drive Kyungsoo crazy. Jongin already has two hands behind the bars of two separate cages, petting two fluffy white things named ChenChen and Seokie respectively. Ugh, people and their _cute_ names.

“What about this little guy?” Jongin coos, now petting ChenChen with two hands. Kyungsoo reads the dog label again, _Bichon Frise_ —whatever that meant. The dog appears energetic as it happily lets Jongin pet him, licking his hand all the while. Seokie, the other dog, or—Kyungsoo squints at the label— _Pomeranian_ , is now whining in his cage, jealous over the attention ChenChen is currently getting, and shooting Kyungsoo the most impleading, and well, _puppy dog eyes_ he’s ever seen. He almost breaks and goes to pet the damn thing before a large bark erupts from behind him, which sends Kyungsoo flying ten feet into the air, heart pounding erratically.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Kyungsoo gasps, clutching his chest as it heaves in a startled lungful. Normally, he isn’t fazed by loud noises, but this time he can’t help it. Jongin giggles, laughing at Kyungsoo’s shock before he catches sight of the loud, thundering beast behind him, and lets out a high-pitch, unmanly screech that practically bursts Kyungsoo’s eardrums into a million, tiny pieces.

“I want him!” Jongin cries, pushing Kyungsoo aside to behold the perpetrator, a golden retriever. Kyungsoo’s familiar with this type of dog; lots of people in his neighbourhood growing up had had golden retrievers that they'd walked around the block. Kyungsoo had always been scared of big dogs when he’d been little, but his outburst tells him some of that fear hasn’t quite disappeared yet.

To be fair, the golden puppy isn’t that big of a dog; he’s full-grown but the retriever doesn’t seem as big now as it did when Kyungsoo had been walking with his mom to preschool. In fact, it’s actually kind of cute, tail wagging excitedly and Jongin pets the poor thing with such fervour. 

“Oh, my, isn’t he just the cutest,” Jongin coos, scratching the dog all over. The dog throws himself on his back to let Jongin scratch his belly, and Kyungsoo takes a look at the label.

“Yeolie…” Kyungsoo says out loud as he reads the puppy’s name. He gets closer to read the fine print underneath. 2 ½ years old… entered the shelter 3 months ago…

“You’re taking this one,” Jongin states, not relenting his petting of the cute dog.

“What? Why?” Kyungsoo asks, pretending to sound annoyed, but secretly he’s pleased. The golden retriever, Yeolie, is adorable (although loud) and even if Kyungsoo’s never imagined having a pet before, it’s not too hard to imagine himself taking this one home. He could take him on walks, cuddle him when he’s watching TV at night, sic him on all of Kyungsoo’s personal enemies (basically Jongin), or even talk to him when his apartment gets too lonely.

_What’s wrong me, wanting to talk to a dog…_

“Kyungsoo, this was my idea, I filled out those forms. Not to mention I am the doggy expert here, after all. This little guy seems like just the right amount of positive energy you need in your life,” Jongin explains. The puppy is now jumping around in his enclosure, as if he knows something exciting is about to happen to him.

“Isn’t it like really hard to get one though? Isn’t the screening process really intense?” Kyungsoo mumbles his reply, voice sounding weaker than before as a nervous bubble builds somewhere in his throat. How do you even take care of a dog?

“Do not fret, friend, I have taken care of that. Not only do I have good contacts in this doggy business, I know exactly what how to sell you. You’re welcome, by the way, for filling out all that paperwork really awesomely for you. I accept payment in the form of fried chicken,” Jongin remarks smugly, “also, if the lady asks about poor ‘Snoodles’ just fake-cry your way through it. Show ‘em your sentimental side, even though we both know you don’t have one.”

Kyungsoo bites his lip in agitation, “first off, Jongin, 23-year-olds shouldn’t be saying words like awesomely. Secondly, you lied about my experience with animals? Isn’t that illegal or something?”

Honestly, even if Jongin is something of a puppy himself, that kid certainly had a cunning and mischievous side to him, one Kyungsoo definitely doesn’t want to experience for himself.

“All’s fair in love and doggy-care…I think. I mean, I basically have a PhD in taking care of dogs. I can just show you what to do,” Jongin counters. Yeolie is still being pet, Jongin’s fingers running slowly though the dog’s soft-looking fur.

If Jongin can manage to take care of _his_ dogs properly, then why can’t Kyungsoo? Sure, his experience is basically zilch, but he’s always been the ‘responsible’ one. If anyone should be allowed to take care of a cute, little animal it should be him.

“Okay,” he acquiesces, with a long, drawn-out sigh to make it seem like the decision had been a lot more grueling. It’s sad in itself that he’s giving into Jongin’s—Jongin: the boy who cries when he gets a paper cut—whims.

“Really, you think you can handle it?” Jongin’s eyes go wide and he stops petting the retriever for a minute. The dog whines and Kyungsoo gulps.

“Yeah, it’s only you I can’t handle.”  
Kyungsoo always underestimated the force Jongin can kick with.  
***

That’s the story of how two weeks later Kyungsoo finds himself in his apartment—except Jongin’s there too, and four dogs, one of which is _his_.

“—And don’t forget to change the food dish and water bowl right when you wake up—seriously, you’ll regret it if you don’t. Well! I really need to get going now, have fun! Come on kids!”

Jongin somehow manages to shoo his 3 poodles out of Kyungsoo’s apartment. His friend had come over to explain Caring 4 ur Dog 101 by Professor Kim, but the amount of information that had come streaming out of Jongin’s mouth like Niagara Falls had Kyungsoo nervous as fuck. Honestly, he can’t remember what half of his friend’s lecture had been about, but the words ‘no chocolate!’ are still ringing in his ears. He’s reminded of his college days; teachers yapping so quick his notes looked more like hieroglyphics than actual hand-writing. Thank god he always bought a photocopy of Joonmyun’s notes.  
This time, though, there is no set of notes he can refer to. This test is purely practical.

Yeolie then barks, dissatisfied being left alone. 10 minutes ago he’d been living it up, sniffing the hell out of Jongin’s equally excited puppies, but now the poor dog looks bored.

Kyungsoo can still hear to voice of the women from the shelter in his head: _remember, Yeolie here was a stray before we took him in. He’s friendly now, but we don’t know what kind of life this dog lived before coming here. We don’t know what type of behaviour he’ll demonstrate in the future, especially under stress, so be prepared._

The words echo in his head repeatedly. It’s bad enough this is his first official pet, but a pet with a history? What if the dog tried to chew his leg off? 

“Come here…boy…” Kyungsoo calls softly, outstretching his hand towards Yeolie’s shimmering golden coat. He hasn’t gotten much of a chance to pet his new companion, but he wants to, and he hopes that’s what Yeolie wants too.

Instead Yeolie promptly lifts up his leg and pisses on Kyungsoo’s immaculately clean floor.  
***  
It turns out Yeolie really enjoys peeing on Kyungsoo’s floors. He puts newspaper out but Yeolie pretends it’s not even there. Kyungsoo almost had a heart attack—or a hulk transformation—when he got home one evening to find Yeolie had pissed in his bed.

That’s not all, Kyungsoo finds himself lamenting, as Yeolie doesn’t let his owner put his leash on so they can go for a walk, and he likes to jump on Kyungsoo’s couch, and to his horror, break the springs inside.

It’s not that Yeolie is a hostile dog, his tail is always wagging amicably behind him as he searches Kyungsoo’s quaint apartment for more things to destroy or at least pee on. And he doesn’t do much barking (much… he has a feud with the microwave).

If Kyungsoo were a lonely househusband with all the world’s time on his hands to train the family dog, he’d pull out an internet article and try to sort out his unruly new pet himself. Instead he’s working till evening every weekday and just wants a good little puppy to be waiting for him when he gets home feeling mostly dead inside.

Yeolie only lives in his apartment for two weeks until Kyungsoo cracks and dials the stupid number on his phone that he knows by heart.

“Hello?” Comes Jongin’s reply. He sounds sleepy, like he’s just woken up from a nap, but then again when does he ever not sound exhausted? 

“I need help; Yeolie is destroying my home and my sanity. Yesterday he pissed on my laundry and now I’m forced to wear an old college track suit. This is an emergency,” Kyungsoo reports, trying to keep his voice steady, and not, you know, start screaming with frustration.

“Hmm, maybe teach him to sit or roll over; although maybe you won’t want him to roll over when he’s peeing,” Jongin mutters into the receiver unhelpfully.

“I’m serious. I can’t handle this dog. He paws his way around my kitchen like he’s just gosh darn precious but then knocks over half the furniture in the living room. I don’t know what to do.”

“Hmm,” Jongin sighs thoughtfully, perhaps finally waking up upon hearing the obvious desperation in his poor friend’s voice, “okay, I have an idea.”

 _Another idea huh?_  
***  
The man in the pink windbreaker, and what Kyungsoo thinks might be leggings, stands at the same height as him, hair chestnut brown and smile small but endearing.

 _Who is this man?_ one may be asking. Kyungsoo quickly recalls the idea Jongin had given him a few weeks ago over the phone. Apparently when one of his puppies had been younger—Kyungsoo didn’t know which one; his friend had too many damn dogs—it had also had some behavioural issues.  
The man is a dog trainer. But no, not just any trainer, he was too good for that, Jongin had got him the very best in town. Supposedly, he’d won a bunch of awards for his skills with disobedient canines, and apparently every prestigious owner, aka just Jongin, was familiar with dog society’s most successful up-and-coming behavioural specialist.

“Hello, Mr. Do, I’m guessing?” the man in pink asks, outstretching his small hand. The man’s face is youthful, and Kyungsoo wonders if he’s still college-aged.

“Oh, yeah. You can call me Kyungsoo, that’s fine,” he corrects. Even though Kyungsoo’s an adult in the adult-world with an adult-job, it’s still makes him uncomfortable when people call him things like ‘sir’.

“Alright, Kyungsoo, thank you for choosing me for your doggy-care needs! I’m Byun Baekhyun, rookie dog trainer, but don’t let that fool you, you’ll soon see I’m quite skilled!” the man finishes with a wink, and Kyungsoo wonders if he’s missed something.

“So about my dog…” Kyungsoo starts, wanting to get this session over with. Right now they’re at a local park, because when he’d first contacted the dog training agency he’d been told to bring Yeolie to a ‘familiar and safe environment for his first examination’.

“Oh, yes, what’s this big guy’s name?” Baekhyun, the trainer, croons, immediately squatting down so that he’s face to face with Yeolie. The dog is excited by the new man, and instantly Yeolie’s tail starts wagging.

“Y-Yeolie,” Kyungsoo stammers, embarrassed by how cutesy his pet’s name is. Why didn’t he rename the golden retriever Bruce or something equally manly? Maybe Super-Macho-Dog would have sufficed.

“Hello, Yeolie~! The trainer immediate coos, and the dog goes nuts, throwing himself at Baekhyun and licking away at the young trainer’s face. Baekhyun giggles, as if dog spit up his nose is charming and not in reality super gross, “can you tell me a little more about Yeolie’s behaviour? Your email was forwarded to me, but all information is useful!”

“Um, okay…” Kyungsoo replies. He tries to tell the trainer everything he knows about the dog, and everything said crazy dog has done. Even as Kyungsoo recounts the list of things, over the sounds of traffic and screaming children in the park, Baekhyun still looks focussed on pleasing Yeolie by scratching the dog everywhere he likes to be scratched. Kyungsoo is a little jealous watching them; Yeolie’s not that enthusiastic about _his_ scratches.

When Kyungsoo finishes up the long list Baekhyun pouts, as if thinking hard, and Kyungsoo can’t help but note that the trainer bears a striking resemblance to a himself. He tries to figure out which breed, but all he can think of is the little toy pup Joonmyun’s friend, Zitao, has. He wonders if Baekhyun would look as pretty as Candy with a bow in his hair.

Kyungsoo then immediately retracts that thought. Because it’s weird. Yes, that’s why.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I’d like to play around with Yeolie here. One, to better evaluate what could be causing him to behave like that, and two, because it’s fun!” Baekhyun cries, pulling a Frisbee seemingly out a nowhere and immediately tossing it into the air. Yeolie’s eyes sparkle with pure excitement as he catches sight of the spinning red disk, and just like that the golden retriever is sprinting after it, followed by an amused dog trainer in a pastel pink jacket.

Kyungsoo decides not to join in; after all, technically this is Baekhyun’s work and he doesn’t want to intrude. He finds himself a park bench to sit on, and watches them play together. He takes out his phone, debating whether he has time to get some work done while the two interact.

A high-pitch and boisterous laugh draws his attention, and he looks up to see the dog trainer on his back, about thirty yards away, Frisbee in his hand, and golden retriever holding him down while wagging his tail in earnest.

Baekhyun manages to wiggle out from underneath the dog, who’s really only so happy to let him up, and toss the Frisbee across the park again. Yeolie kicks into gear, running after the little disk and making sure not to hit anything or anyone along the way. Baekhyun crouches down and smiles once Yeolie’s finally got the Frisbee between his teeth, and the dog happily struts over, probably hoping for more pets on account of his awesome frisbee-fetching. Kyungsoo will admit Yeolie’s good at fetching.

Although he actually does have an important phone call to make regarding work, he can’t tear his eyes away from the scene before him. There’s something breathtaking about how Baekhyun can look so at ease, face red from running around and from laughing giddily every time Yeolie licks him. Also the leggings he’s wearing are inappropriately distracting. Kyungsoo fidgets uncomfortably on the bench.

After about half an hour, Baekhyun peels himself up from the grass and directs Yeolie back to his owner. 

Kyungsoo pets his dog timidly as Baekhyun makes his way over, out of breath and face flushed. 

“It seems to me like Yeolie’s just a bundle of energy! He seems to take orders well when he’s having fun; I would suggest maybe taking him for walks and to the park to play more often. I want to see if that will improve his behaviour, so let’s schedule again for two weeks from today. If it’s more serious than that, then there’s still a lot more options, but more exercise is always a good start!” Baekhyun exclaims, he hands Kyungsoo his business card, which is also pink, and offers a huge, brazen grin.

Kyungsoo tries to reciprocate, but suddenly the air temperature feels too hot, and he adds, “Yeah…” unthoughtfully instead.

He’s going to kill Jongin for getting him a dog trainer whose smile is way too charming, and his legs way too shapely. That, or buy him extra chicken.  
***  
When he gets back to his apartment he finds Yeolie more content but lacking energy, probably from all the running around he did. After gulping down some water, his dog curls up in his little doggy bed and proceeds to take a nap. What amazes Kyungsoo the most is the lack of piss on any of his furniture.  
***  
He takes Yeolie to the park five times in the next week. He brings a tennis ball, and of course, a Frisbee. Sometimes Jongin comes too but when that happens the ratio of dog to person is too off-balanced and Kyungsoo and Yeolie end up defecting from the main group to play by themselves.

Yeolie pees on his apartment floors twice that weak (and once on his shoe), but he’s too tired for couch jumping and instead prefers to plop himself down into Kyungsoo’s lap to get some scratching. It’s nice, that Yeolie has become less rambunctious, but he he’s not all fixed yet, and he looks forward to his next appointment with the trainer—solely for Yeolie’s benefit of course.  
***  
The next appointment ends up being a Sunday and Kyungsoo is almost sad that he has to leave his sleepy apartment to go bring Yeolie into the world. Baekhyun wanted to meet at the park again, so he wrestles his dog—playfully of course—to get his leash on so that they can go.

A little girl slows him down when she asks if she can pet his dog, Yeolie’s tail whacking in every which direction once the girls hands start stroking his neck and back. Her mom eventually drags her away and Kyungsoo starts to jog a bit, hoping it’ll encourage Yeolie to increase his pace. Thankfully it does, but instead Kyungsoo finds himself being dragged.

He manoeuvers his dog to the park, even if Yeolie’s still trying to leave Kyungsoo behind in his dust.  
Embarrassed that his dog is like fifty times stronger, Kyungsoo tries to get Yeolie to heel so he can catch his breath while he waits for Baekhyun to show up.

He hears a distinct series of guffaws and realizes much too late that his image can never be salvaged.  
“I guess he’s still got too much energy?” Baekhyun chuckles, bending down to greet Yeolie. It takes about four nanoseconds for Baekhyun’s face to be covered in Yeolie’s saliva.

Kyungsoo flushes, “he’s very strong,” he announces, realizing too late that it’s implies that _he’s_ weak. Well, to be honest Kyungsoo can’t really brag about his guns; he works out but he’ll never compare to Jongin’s effortlessly broad shoulders. In fact, even Baekhyun’s shoulders fill out his pink windbreaker better than Kyungsoo ever could.

“Just be careful he doesn’t pull you into the street or anything,” Baekhyun reprimands but his tone is light, “anyways how was your week?” he asks, still focussed on giving Yeolie all his affection.

“Alright I guess, he peed on my folded laundry, but at least nothing’s broken,” Kyungsoo replies.

“Hmm, alright, well I wrote down some suggestions for Yeolie. I’m still gonna have to lecture you because that’s my job, but you can take this home with you to read later. Anyways, let’s keep Yeolie entertained and I’ll tell you what I think after the session.”

“Okay,” Kyungsoo answers. They tire Yeolie out, playing fetch and all sorts of games; by the end both of them are sitting on the grass, the dog in between them fast asleep.

Kyungsoo can’t help but notices how attractive Baekhyun looks, face pink from exertion, or how his warm brown eyes look positively stunning when the sun catches them. He wishes he wasn’t noticing these about his dog trainer, after all Baekhyun’s wearing a pink jacket for crying out loud, and Kyungsoo never goes brighter than a medium hue of charcoal.

Yeolie kicks in his sleep and Kyungsoo suddenly wishes he were at home napping as well. Sundays are lazy days after all.

“Don’t fall asleep~” Baekhyun sing-songs, smiling smugly at Kyungsoo who realizes his eyelids had been closing without his knowledge. He lets out a grunt and rolls onto his back, staring up at the blue sky. It’s better than staring into Baekhyun’s eyes.

“So what’s the verdict,” Kyungsoo asks, bringing his hand up and placing it on Yeolie’s head. The dog stirs but doesn’t wake and Kyungsoo feels fond.

“Hmm, I think I know exactly what to do to get this little pup on the right path. I want to have another session though, just to explain things. Are you free on Friday?” Baekhyun asks.

“I get off work at 5,” Kyungsoo answers.

“Then are you free for dinner?” 

“Uh, what about Yeolie?” Kyungsoo’s eyes shift back to his dog. The one Baekhyun is training is the dog not Kyungsoo, right?

“Oh, no, this is just a one-on-one session, no needs for Yeolie to come. You have my business card, send me a text and I’ll text back where to meet me, alright?

“Um, okay?”

“Awesome, see you soon!” Baekhyun’s smile is cheesy, but Kyungsoo just wants to lean in closer.

With that, though, Baekhyun leaves, and Kyungsoo lies in the grass in another hour because dinner with his dog trainer sounds way too much like a date.  
***  
_This is Kyungsoo, are we still meeting?._ Is the text that he sends. He doesn’t care that’s its dry—after all this is a professional meeting. Kyungsoo is a client. He’s just going to talk about getting help for his dog. At dinner. Without said dog.

_Hello, Kyungsoo ;) this is Baekhyun :D_

Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to reply when he gets another incoming message.

_Hold on a second, I’ll text u where to meet me, I just gotta check the address_

Kyungsoo waits and sure enough he gets a message explain where and when to meet the trainer. He looks at the clock; Baekhyun wants to meet in two hours. It’s enough time for a shower and a little lounging—he’s totally not going to take two hours to get ready for a totally _not_ date.

He ends up taking the two hours because he changes his outfit twice maybe sixteen times. He walks to the restaurant; it’s only ten minutes away anyways. He stands there awkwardly, trying to imagine how a dinner with one’s dog trainer is supposed to go.

 _I’m waiting :)_ is the message he receives and figures Baekhyun’s probably already inside. He enters the restaurant—it’s not high end but it’s certainly no fast food place—and scans the tables hoping to spot Baekhyun.

He finds him with difficulty only because he was searching for the pink windbreaker. Of course Baekhyun’s not wearing it to a restaurant; he’s wearing a denim jacket and looks positively casual. He smiles when they make eye contact and Kyungsoo feels like he’s been punched in the gut by how much he likes that smile. It’s wide, carefree, and infectious.

“Hey, glad you could make it. I figured the best way to talk about anything is over food,” Baekhyun at least looks a little sheepish.

“I can’t argue with that; food any good here?”

“Yes, I used to work here, part-time. My awesome rubbed off on all the staff so now it’s #1,” the dog trainer jokes and Kyungsoo makes himself comfy in the booth. He thought at first that a one-on-one meeting would be awkward, but it’s hard to feel so around Baekhyun. 

“Alright, I guess I can trust your word,” Kyungsoo replies, picking up the menu and flipping through it.  
The whole evening the conversation never strays very far from Yeolie. Although he does learn a little about Baekhyun and his own dog, a beagle named FanFan, he mostly gets nothing but tips and advice from the trainer. The advice is actually useful; Kyungsoo can tell Baekhyun has all sorts of experience dealing with different doggy cases. The things he learns definitely aren’t things Wikipedia could ever tell him.

The only issue is Baekhyun’s foot keeps bumping into his like some mock-game of footsie. It’s a distraction, even though it’s subtle, Kyungsoo can’t tell if it’s accidental or not.

He doesn’t comment on it, and tries his best to ignore it, because secretly it’s not terrible. At one point Baekhyun’s foot creeps a little too high up his calf and he shivers. He hopes Baekhyun didn’t notice. 

They head out at nine and Kyungsoo walks all the way back to his apartment. There he’s welcomed by a snoring dog and for once not the scent of urine.  
***  
When Kyungsoo turns his phone on during his lunch break he has two unread messages, both are from a number he knows but hasn’t saved.

_~If your heart was a Frisbee, I’d catch it~_

What.

_~I’ll be your Tramp if you be my Lady~_

What?

Kyungsoo practically drops his phone in shock. Were those… pick-up lines? About dogs? From  
Baekhyun? The cute dog trainer?

Now he’s sure Baekhyun was wiggling his feet at him on purpose!

Should-should he reply? He doesn’t know how so he just ignores the messages. Maybe Baekhyun thought they were funny and wanted to joke around. He’s not sure if he should bring this up the next time they meet (on Thursday because Baekhyun wanted to discuss more about his puppy).

When Kyungsoo gets home he has about 3 more messages, all of them from Baekhyun, and all of them are really cheesy pick-up lines Baekhyun is obviously getting from a google search. He’s not quite sure anymore if it’s still a joke so he turns his phone off and takes Yeolie for a walk to distract himself. On one hand the texts are awful, and Kyungsoo is not easily seduced, but on the other, he kind of hopes Baekhyun means them.

The pick-up lines don’t stop, though, in fact they get more persistent and more…inappropriate.

_Knick-knack, Paddy-wack, you just gave this dog a bone._

_Is it warm in here, or are you in heat?_

_I'll sniff your butt if you sniff mine._

Kyungsoo is screaming at his phone manically by the time he gets the last text. Either Baekhyun is really, really interested—and Kyungsoo is truly flattered, or he’s pushed the joke too far. Part of him wants to cancel for Thursday and never see the dog trainer again to save himself from awkward confrontation (after all Yeolie was _totally fine…_ ), but another half of him was even more eager to meet Baekhyun and see what exactly he was hoping to accomplish by sending Kyungsoo pick-up lines.

He keeps it to himself; his friend’s would tease him relentlessly if they were to find out. Instead he uses Yeolie’s side as a pillow and tries to smother himself with it. The retriever tries to look compassionate, or at least Kyungsoo hopes he does. Yeolie just probably has to piss again.  
***  
However, Thursday can’t be avoided. Baekhyun wanted to meet him at a coffee shop, and this time he brings Yeolie. Of course the dog can’t go inside, so Kyungsoo ties his leash to a bike rack. He feels bad for doing so, but he needs his dog here for moral support. He’s had Yeolie for quite a few weeks now and he’s certainly grown attached to his golden friend, despite his unruliness. Kyungsoo brings the dish that he brought and fills it with water (he doesn’t want Yeolie to get dehydrated) and he gives his dog a few treats that he’d stuffed in his pocket.

Yeolie looks pleased, if the status of his tail is anything to go by, so Kyungsoo stuffs his hands into his pockets and loiters around the entrance of the coffee shop.

He recognized the pink windbreaker before he recognizes the face. Baekhyun’s smiling, hands tucked into his jacket, and for once he focusses his attention on Kyungsoo instead of his furry pet.

Kyungsoo doesn’t know how to break the ice so he holds up his phone, trying to channel his perplexity into his expression

Baekhyun smirks, smug as ever, “baby, you are what I call a hot dog!”  
Kyungsoo sputters. 

Baekhyun laughs, and for a second Kyungsoo thinks it really is a joke. He got all worked up for nothing.

“Why?” he whines. Holding his hands over his cheeks in a pathetic attempt to not look like a blushing 12-year-old. He can tell it’s already too late for that though.

“Because you’re so cute that I had to. Honestly, I meant those pick-up lines. I’m not good at confessing this sort of stuff normally, but since I’ve we met I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about you. No pressure, though, if you don’t feel the same way,” Baekhyun still sounds confident, although he’s nibbling at his bottom lip. A nervous habit.

Kyungsoo knows he’s probably gaping, Baekhyun’s pretty bold. Not that that’s a bad thing.

“You really meant those pick-up lines, even the one about sniffing my butt?”

Baekhyun’s face turns so dark it’s practically purple, “um… I forgot about that one. Too creepy?”

Kyungsoo pushes down his current emotional state of cute-boy-actually-likes-me??? To pretend to think, “Just maybe.”

They lapse into a short silence. Yeolie yawns. 

“I think… this is where you’re supposed to kiss me and seal the deal?” Kyungsoo finally pipes up. 

“Is that okay? ‘Sealing the deal’ I mean?” Baekhyun’s suddenly nervous. Kyungsoo finds it cute. They could both probably scavenge through their vocabularies for better words to describe each other, but cute would have to do for now.

Kyungsoo just grabs Baekhyun by his stupid, adorable jacket and crushes their lips together. Baekhyun’s mouth is small and soft, and most of all, wet. He kisses him deeply, because Baekhyun is probably the cutest thing he’s ever seen. Probably cuter than all of Jongin’s puppies.

Both of them are still standing in front of the café entrance, and Kyungsoo lets it sink in that he’s kissing the his dog trainer, the one Jongin had suggested. He smirks into Baekhyun’s mouth as he recalls Jongin’s previous words.

_All's fair in love and doggy-care..._

They break apart when Yeolie barks pointedly at them. He looks back at his dog, who he swears winks at him.

Yeolie barks again and Kyungsoo thinks it translates to ‘go get some’.

He looks back to Baekhyun, who still has pink cheeks and even pinker lips.

Eventually… but first, he has a coffee date.  
***  
Yeolie might not be the companion Kyungsoo has always imagined, but he loves his quirky dog all the same. It’s only when Yeolie interrupts Kyungsoo and Baekhyun making out on Kyungsoo’s sofa that he’s ever peeved, but each time Baekhyun can kiss his annoyance away. Kyungsoo finds, as Baekhyun nuzzles his nose into Kyungsoo’s throat, he’s not as lonely anymore—at least Yeolie can do one thing right (and score him a cute boy who likes to wear pink).

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on [twitter?](https://twitter.com/seyeolls)


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